The words American Lager generally illicit thoughts of macrobrewed session beers and all day drinking. That wasn’t always the case. As beer became popular in the United States lagers quickly became the favorite of the nation. That being the case, the lagers of that era were merely relatives of the mass produced lagers of today. Then came Prohibition. Breweries were shuttered, barrels of beer smashed and recipes lost. Sad times indeed.

When the dark days finally ended the beer landscape was changed forever. The old recipes were gone ushering in a new era of far lighter lagers. That is, until a couple years ago when Coors Brewing unearthed a pre-Prohibition lager recipe in their archives. Thus, Batch 19 was born and it’s good, quite good.

Batch 19 makes its first impression visually. With a medium amber/honey color Batch 19 is darker than the lagers of today and carries less carbonation and thus virtually no head. The aroma is very crisp with almost a cider-like quality, fruity and very light on the yeast. The flavor has a touch of hoppy bitterness and yeast with a very light sweetness. Batch 19 has a great dry quality that makes you want to keep coming back for more. While Batch 19 has qualities of a session beer, it is certainly a step above your standard macrobrew. This is definitely a beer I would order out.

† The product reviewed here was provided to me as a free sample. If you’re wondering what that means check out my sample policy.